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study guide for superdomain01e ["(dis)orientation"]
Material from: Mäkelä, E., & Petsche, J. M. M. (2013). Serious parody: Discordianism as liquid religion. Culture and Religion, 14 (4), 1-13.
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1. Know whether or not Discordianism has been identified by Cusack as the first “invented religion.” Know whether or not Discordianism not only represents a highly eclectic and "liquid" worldview in itself, but that it also intentionally “liquefies” the boundaries between the sacred and profane. Know whether or not Hill disagreed with Thornley, insisting that order was a construction of the human mind, and only chaos is real. Know whether or not Principia Discordia sets out the five commandments of Discordianism (the Pentabarf), which satirize well-known principles of the world’s major religions.
2. Know whether or not Hill recently said, “You know, if I had realized that all of this was going to come true, I would have chosen Venus.” Know whether or not rank and file Discordians also gradually came to take the Discordian worldview seriously, viewing Discordianism as a religion masquerading as a joke, rather than a joke masquerading as a religion. Know whether or not, as Cusack notes in Invented “religion” is traditionally understood as a phenomenon originating in divine revelation, or with origins in the distant past that obscure the initial revelation and original founder.
3. Know whether or not Discordianism not only defies traditional conventions of legitimation such as prophecy, channelling or a connection to pre-existing traditions, but was also deliberately intended to be fictional by its founders. Know whether or not Cusack assesses the extent to which Discordianism might be considered a "real" religion by relating the Discordian narrative to established religious narratives, including those of Paganism and Buddhism.
4. Know whether or not Discordianism’s co-creator has stated that Discordianism was “an American form of Zen Buddhism.” Know whether or not theorists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries…held the view that modernization is inevitably accompanied by a decline in the social significance of religion. Know whether or not Partridge argues that, while mainstream religion may have lost its authority in contemporary western societies, new forms of "religion"’ are evolving to compensate for this retreat.
5. Know whether or not Partridge says that the West is becoming “re-enchanted” by new hybrid forms of religion and alternative, adaptable spiritualities. Know whether or not Taira [argues that], rather than simply disappearing, the solid borders of institutional religion have broken down or “liquified” as it slips into the nooks and crannies of society. Know whether or not Bauman’s “liquid modernity”…results in a melting pot of ideas, from which individuals freely build their own meaning systems.
6. Know whether or not, in a pluralistic society, status of meaning systems cannot be taken for granted, and individuals and subcultures must justify and legitimate their meaning systems, not to lose credibility in the eyes of other individuals. Know whether or not, from a “solid religion” point of view, religion will disappear in the face of secularisation. Know whether or not the goals of solid religiosity have often been transformational and focused on a postponed goal…but in liquid religion the orientation is to the “here and now.”
7. Know whether or not interviews highlighted ways in which individuals related to Discordianism, and provided insight into how Discordianism might correspond with…”liquid” religion. Know whether or not interviews confirmed that Discordianism not only represents a highly eclectic and very liquid worldview, but also intentionally “liquefies” the boundaries between the sacred and profane. Know whether or not, when asked about their religious orientation, only one Discordian defined himself as exclusively Discordian.
8. Know whether or not, when the religious aspects of Discordian identification in contemporary Finland were investigated, some interviewees revealed that they had intentionally made a pilgrimage to a statue of a rubber gorilla in Helsinki. Know whether or not the use of popular cultural figures and domestic symbols…as "power animals" or the activity of sanctifying a rubber gorilla seem to indicate a tendency to liquify the categories of sacred and profane by questioning traditional perspectives and boundaries.
9. Know whether or not, for the majority of interviewees, Discordianism represented freedom…being freed both from religious dogma, and through humor, freed from the dullness of everyday life. Know whether or not, when mundane life proved stressful, the informants rejected the notion of a better life after death; rather, they wished for improvements in the here and now. Know whether or not spiritual seeking (and finding), self-programming, and fulfilling personal spiritual needs were all concepts that interviewees attached to Discordianism in general and their personal religiosity specifically.
10. Know whether or not interviewees frequently stated that Discordian rituals worked better in a group because there was more "religious feeling" in collective contexts. Know whether or not, in Principia Discordia, it is stated that there is an institutional order in Discordianism, albeit an order that is satirical and jovial. Know whether or not the balancing of chaos and order is best perceived as an ongoing this-worldly process in which a person learns to let go of previous worldviews without going insane, and how to avoid becoming entrenched in certain thoughts.
"As Below, So Above"
[Graphics by Descript's Overlord and Microsoft's Powerpoint. Background videos by Wix.com].
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